


(Don't) Come Back Soon

by aBOOKISHfreak



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Doctor AU, F/M, I can see this happening, Modern, a bit of fighting, author doesn't know how to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:55:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25082704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aBOOKISHfreak/pseuds/aBOOKISHfreak
Summary: Aelin has been pit-fighting for years, but one part of that routine always brightens her day. The doctor that she always sees after a fight is certainly attractive, and she looks forward to seeing him every time. Rowan is always intrigued by one of his patients, and finds himself hoping every impromptu case is her's. He knows she has secrets, but the face under the mask seems a little too familiar.
Relationships: Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien & Rowan Whitethorn
Comments: 17
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this as a one-shot, but a couple of people said it would work well as a multi-chapter, so I'm changing it into a mini-series. I really have no idea where I'm going to go with this, but I'm going to do my best to have it make sense. Also, my knowledge of how a hospital works is close to none, so sorry for anything that's wrong. Enjoy!

Sweat dripped down her forehead. The sand crunched under her feet. The loud screaming and cheering of the crowd was drowned out in her focused state.

Aelin Galathynius swiftly ducked away from the fist flying at her face. With the skill of someone who’d had years to practice, she gripped the man’s arm, twisting until he staggered to the side, off balance. Snarling, her opponent ran at her, letting anger control him.

A rookie mistake. Aelin smirked. With little effort, she stuck out her foot, effectively tripping him. Aelin quickly leaped on top of him, pinning his arms with her knees and pressing her forearm over his neck. When the man choked, her mouth spread into a grim smile. After ten seconds, a bell rang out, sounding even over the hollering of the people watching. A man in black quickly announced her win over the loudspeaker.

She let go and quickly stood up. She glanced into the crowded stands, finding people cheering, some pouting, as they exchanged money. Aelin grinned. Just being a woman always had her bet against by people who didn’t know her. The ones that were well-acquainted with her reputation always won, simply because Aelin didn’t lose. Even after ten fights, she was alright. Had taken a few hard hits, sure. Her jaw and cheekbone were throbbing, and she suspected bruises would be popping up soon. Several fingers in Aelin’s hand were crooked, and she couldn’t flatten it out. Her ribs felt like they were on fire. Touching them gently, Aelin winced. She thought one or two might be broken.

Stalking to the edge of the pit, she reached for one of the hands stretching down into the pit, waiting to haul her up. Choosing one at random, she scrambled up, carefully, as not to jar her ribs. When she went to let go of the hand and walk to the bar, it didn’t let go. Looking up at the man attached to the hand, her smile faded. 

_ Shit. _ Aelin looked into the turquoise and gold eyes that matched hers. The golden locks that reached his shoulder. The other side of her golden coin. Aedion. 

“I can expla-”

“Come on. We’re leaving,” he commanded. Aelin, knowing that if she resisted it would be much worse for her, followed him reluctantly. Her cousin dragged her out of the building, not letting her stop to get her winnings, and onto the sidewalk. From there, he speedwalked to his sleek black car, his grip on her wrist near painful. Aedion opened the passenger side door, and shoved her in. When he was sitting in the driver’s seat and had started the car, slowly pulling away, he spoke.

“I thought I told you to stay away from that place. It’s bad for you, it’s full of crooks,” he said, grinding his teeth. 

Aelin looked at her feet. It was true. He  _ had _ told her many times to stay out of the fighting rings. Dragged her out, too, several times. Aelin knew that it was an awful place, and that she should stay away, but she couldn’t. It helped her release stress, get a break from the mask she put on, hiding her pain away from the world. In the fights, she could take out all her frustration, stop pretending to be something she wasn’t. She didn’t have to hide how badly she was hurting inside, she could use that pain to fuel her. 

Aedion knew that too. He was one of the only people that did. But still, he told her to stay away. Told her it was too dangerous, a waste of her time, her energy. But Aelin thought different.

Her cousin didn’t speak to her for the rest of the car ride. Aelin was all too familiar with this routine. Either he’d notice her injuries when she arrived home, or would pull her out of the place himself. He’d force her in the car, chastise her, then stay silent. He’d take her to the Oryth General Hospital, where she’d get treated, then not speak to her until morning, pretending nothing ever happened. 

Before she knew it, Aedion turned off the car, sending her a sharp look that had her jumping out of the car and near jogging to keep up with his long strides. He marched in and she followed, staying behind him as he talked to the receptionist. Thankfully, it didn’t take long. The people here were accustomed to them now, seeing as they had been to the hospital about five times more often than any normal person.

Aelin knew she should feel bad about going against the one thing Aedion had directly said not to do, but instead she only felt nervous, if not excited. There was one doctor that was always there late, and usually fixed her up after fights. Dr. Whitethorn was… unfairly handsome. While the fighting was definitely wrong, she always felt like this before emergency trips to the hospital knowing that she would see him. 

Saying she had a crush on the doctor was an understatement.

\--------------------

Rowan was having a lousy day. 

It seemed the world was testing his patience today. He’d seemed to get all of the worst cases, not doing anything interesting all day, only dealing with cases of the flu and stitches. The majority of his day was trying to be patient with the idiots that came in because they got a tiny cut and the old men that were in denial that anything was wrong with them. On top of all that, the fact that he was going to the bar with his friends later seemed to be teasing him, knowing that every hour that passed toward his salvation seemed to last ten.

When he finally finished up, he just had to check his schedule for the next day, then could go. When he stepped out of the room and closed the door, Rowan was met by two very large men leaning against the wall in the cramped hallway.

“It’s about time,” Fenrys started with a smirk. “We were beginning to wonder if they were keeping you overnight.”

Rowan sighed. “I did too, for a minute.” 

Lorcan huffed. “Can we just go?” Rowan rolled his eyes. They were all used to Lorcan’s lack of patience, as well as his bluntness. Rowan was about to oblige his request when a nurse hurried down the hall towards him. 

“Dr. Whitethorn! I know you were supposed to be done today, but there was a patient that just came in. She requested you by name, and said it would only take a minute. A Miss Galathynius, I believe.”

Rowan groaned and dragged a hand down his face. Oh, he knew a Miss Galathynius. The woman had been to see him many times before, and after a while, began to ask for him. She always came in looking extremely beat up, usually pulled down the hall by a blonde man that looked a lot like her. When he’d asked what happened, She’d looked at her feet and the man, Aedion he believed, told him it was pit fighting.  _ Pit fighting. _ He didn’t know exactly why, but something about her made him inclined to always patch her up. Mainly because he saw parts of himself in her. Broken, hurt, that look of unmistakable loss. 

“Tell them to come in,” he said, letting out a long-suffering sigh. “Sorry, this should be quick,” he told his friends, shooting them apologetic looks. Lorcan looked pissed, but Fenrys seemed almost intrigued.

He waited for about a minute, leaning against the wall and silently begging this to end soon. When Rowan heard footsteps echoing down the hall, he pushed off the tall, white plaster, moving to stand in front of his door. He heard two voices bickering, the sound traveling down the tall with ease. The hospital had really great acoustics.

“I told you, I’m fine!”

“You are  _ not _ fine. You could barely get out of the car!”

“That doesn’t mean you have to take me here! I can treat it home.”

“This isn’t negotiable.”

Rowan could distinguish the two voices, one male and one female, that danced around each other, disturbing the serene quiet that the hospital had fallen into. They grew louder and louder until two blonde heads rounded the corner, one tall and muscular, one lean. The smaller figure, he noticed, was limping. The male body was dragging the woman down the hall by her wrist, being gentle enough not to hurt her, but his grip looked strong, giving her no option but to follow. 

When they reached his door, the man, Aedion, pushed the woman forward.  _ Aelin.  _ Her turquoise and gold eyes shot a glare over her shoulder, directed at her cousin. He stared back, unrelenting, until she turned her head towards Rowan. Her eyes widened almost comically, and she gnawed on her lower lip. Usually when she came to see him, she had various cuts, sprains, and bruises on her body. Today, though, she looked much worse. She had a split lip, blood leaking down her jaw. Bruises appeared on her cheekbones and on her arms. One hand was held at her side, some of the fingers looked broken. The other was pressed against her ribs.

Her mouth stretched into a smile, then into a wince. “Dr. Whitethorn,” she purred silkily, “just the man I was hoping to visit. See, the funniest thing happened earlier. It was definitely not my fault, and-”

Her words turned into a yelp as he reached out and prodded her ribs, and her face morphed into an expression of anger. She locked her eyes with his, turquoise matching with green, both unrelenting. They were evenly matched in a fierce battle of wills, to which no one had the advantage. 

After a couple of seconds, Aelin finally caved. Sighing, she let her posture evaporate and her head hang. “I think I’ll go inside now,” she stated, and Rowan wasn’t exactly sure who she was talking to. Not looking any of them in the eyes, she pushed open the door and vanished. Looking at his friends, Rowan noted that Fenrys was smirking with amusement, and even Lorcan’s mouth was twitching, as if he was trying not to smile.

Glancing at the blonde man who was standing before him, arms crossed, Rowan asked, “What was it this time?” with a heavy sigh.

With narrowed eyes, Aedion replied, “Pit-fighting, again.” Rowan ground his teeth. At least half of the times she came to the hospital was for fights, which he always told her not to continue. Evidently, she hadn’t listened.

From the room she’d disappeared into, Aelin called, “I won, I’ll have you know! All ten!” Not commenting, Rowan rolled his eyes and swept into the room, closing the door behind him.

\--------------------

Leaving the hospital, Aelin thought it had been quite a successful visit. Whitethorn didn’t seem  _ too  _ pissed, and Aedion was even talking to her. It had turned out that she had a bruised jawbone, Three cracked ribs, a twisted ankle, and two broken fingers. All in all, not that bad.

She couldn’t help but notice how unfairly attractive Dr. Whitethorn’s friends had been. One had looked like he would become Aelin’s new best friends, and the other like he would eat her alive. But Rowan, he was certainly something else. Getting to see the man always made her more excited to fight. It lessened the burden of her cousin’s anger, and certainly gave her a bit of entertainment.

Despite almost everyone she knew telling her to stop getting into fights, Aelin knew she would be going back, if only to see that handsome doctor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ok, I've totally been neglecting this story. I'm sorry for all those people who asked for it to continue, I had a lot of trouble coming up with an acceptable plot. I finally got it all planned out, then distracted by new ideas. You know how writing goes. But now, I think I've got something, so I promise to try and work on this one more. Enjoy!

Aelin’s footsteps were light as she crept down the hall, her eyes darting around cautiously. She expertly avoided the spots that creaked, the doors that closed loudly, thanks to years of practice. She’d walked down the corridors of the mansion countless times, having first been shown around by her father and her mother. 

Some days, she missed them. Others, it just didn’t register. But when it hurt, it  _ hurt _ . She’d stay away from people for days at a time, caught up in the memories, the mourning. Aedion was great about it, really. He gave her space, let her work it out. She’d have to start thanking him more often, she didn't tell him enough. Her cousin had given her so much, helped her keep the house, helped her manage the money, helped her  _ live. _

Aelin had inherited nearly everything from her parents, she and Aedion together. They’d given her the glorious, luxurious mansion in the country, the successful business her father had started, the fortune that she was the sole heir of. That’s why she loved it here. She’d grown up in this house, it reminded her of them, of what they were like. Ever since the accide-

Ever since  _ it _ , she’d forgotten what they looked like, sounded like, how they acted. The one thing she would always remember, however, were the memories. Learning the ins and outs of the house, waddling around during one of their parties, skipping through the grass in the luscious garden. The house had always reminded Aelin of her parents, and had helped her recover the scenes she’d lived with them.

Even after five years, the waves of longing for things to go back to the way they were before were still there. One might have thought they would fade with time, but she couldn’t seem to shake them. The pain of losing them, as well as  _ him,  _ had been a lot, but as a seventeen year old trying to run her father’s company plus sorting out the bills for a large, historical mansion had been too much for her to handle, the hurt and vengeance had consumed Aelin, letting her fall into a dark, dark place. A place that hadn’t lessened for years. Even now, she still wasn’t fully out of the shadows.

_ Shadows _ . Those were familiar. She’d known so much darkness since they died, a sharp contrast to her life before. Now, she hid in the shadows, keeping up the front of happiness. The only ones who ever saw through it were her friends, the ones she knew well. Aedion. Lysandra. Elide. Dorian. They knew when it was a bad day, leaving her alone while still offering comfort.

She never took it, though.

Aelin stalked down the halls of the immaculately-kept house, making little to no noise. She’d always needed air to think, hated being trapped inside her stuffy room after a nightmare. This particular one more than ever. The dream that had been haunting her for five years. The one that replayed that night a hundred times over. She needed to get out, to be in the cool air, to  _ run. _

She gingerly walked through countless rooms, flinching at every little sound. Aedion couldn’t find her. He couldn’t know she still had those dreams, still was so troubled by them. When Aelin reached the large, extravagant double doors, she paused. They were certainly not silent. After a moment of consideration, she went around to the kitchens to go through the smaller, quieter back door. 

Aelin halted when she reached the street, inhaling deeply. The cold air dried her throat, chilled her lungs, being both shocking and refreshing at once. The small paved road that connected the Ashryver Mansion to the rest of Orynth was always quiet, there were rarely any cars traveling down it, just like tonight. She steps into the middle, not bothering with walking on the side, and starts to jog. It was about a mile to Orynth.

She’d run much farther.

As she started to revel in the feel of the wind breaking on her feverish skin, Aelin sped up until she was flat out sprinting. It probably wasn’t the best way to travel to the city, but she loved the rush, the adrenaline she felt from running. How she could forget about her troubles, live in the moment for a mere few minutes. How when she ran, she wasn’t plagued by the negative emotions, the flashbacks to that night. 

Aelin lost herself in the repetition, her movements slowing that farther she got from her home. When the glaring lights were so close they obstructed her vision, she slowed to a walk, breathing hard. She walked through the busy streets, cars abundant even at Two AM. She passed many small stores, many still open at the early morning hour. She contemplated going to the Pits, but found fault in how she would sneak past Aedion. She would have a hard time keeping that a secret.

Instead, she just walked. Walked to cool down, to refresh her mind, to clear out  _ those _ thoughts. Aelin simply let herself exist, not thinking, not trying to think. Just walk.

Until a sharp wolf whistle sounded from across the street, breaking her out of her careful emptiness. It was followed by several hollars and cheers, the catcalls spilling out of the mouths of a group of men sitting in front of a bar. Upon further inspection, Aelin noted that they were clearly completely wasted. Her lip curled in disgust, followed by confusion. Then she looked down.

And realized that in her hurry to escape the house, she was wearing only a tank top and shorts. 

Oops.

Brushing it off, Aelin stood up straighter, gaze hardening, as she walked with more confidence. She hoped it would eliminate that kind of attention. Doing her best to ignore the eyes she felt dragging across her body, Aelin continued to walk down the bustling streets of the city, lettering herself become absorbed in the sensation of the repetitive movements. She let herself drift, not feeling, not thinking.

Then she almost ran into a wall.

In her silence, she’d walked down into an alley, a dead ended alley. As Aelin started to turn around and go back to the main street, she heard a metal clanking, followed by a loud laugh. Then, tall shadows grew in front of her, the darkness parting to reveal four men. The ones from before. 

_ Shit. _

She was trapped.

\--------------------

“And then, right as he was about to ask for my number, he tripped and spilled his coffee all over this old lady!”

Rowan laughed at Fenrys’s animated tale, nearly spilling his water. The bar was packed, as it usually was on a Friday night. He was having a night out with his oldest friends, like they did whenever they could. As Fenrys was showing, they were all completely drunk. All, that is, except Rowan. One might say he was the permanent designated driver. After the accident, the one that had changed his life, he’d begun to avoid alcohol at all costs. 

But he wouldn’t think about that right now.

He was supposed to be having fun, that’s why his friends had dragged him here. He got too absorbed in work, refused to think of anything other than keeping his mind away from the dark thoughts. 

Then, the room became hot. Too hot. Too small. He was there, in the wreck, the world had gone black. It was dark, cold, loud. He looked over. To  _ her.  _

_ No. Nonono. _

Stop, it had to stop. He couldn’t go back there. Couldn’t get lost in the pain, the guilt.

“Rowan?”

He blinked. Gavriel. She turned into Gavriel, staring at Rowan with concern. The room. His friends. Everything was okay.

_ But it wasn’t. _

He stood up suddenly, the chair echoing with a loud screech. Ignoring their confused looks, Rowan stalked out the door and into the cool air. He inhaled deeply, then choked. A dark haired man was smoking next to Rowan, and shot him a glare as his nose wrinkled in disgust, then turned away and walked over to lean against a wall. 

His thoughts drifted for a minute, before a flash of gold caught his eye. Across the street, a woman was walking quickly, her head held high. She was striking, she walked like she owned the world, was so confident. But he knew her. Something about that aura, that strut, was so familiar. It wasn’t until she turned that he knew who she was, until he saw the stunning eyes and tan skin. 

Aelin Galathynius.

She didn’t see him, seemed to be too lost in her own world to notice anything else. Even from here, Rowan knew that look. The one that said you were thinking, troubled, trying to distance yourself from your problems. He wore it often enough as well. He’d heard of her before she became his patient, she was the daughter of a famous businessman. Everyone heard when the Ashryver-Galathynius’ got into an accident. He knew how hard it must have been for her to lose her parents, loss was an old friend of his. But tonight, she just radiated sorrow.

He watched as she adjusted her posture at the sound of a loud, seering whistle. Disgusting. Just to his left, a group of four men were starting at her too. Unlike himself, it wasn’t with curiosity, but with lust. They were very drunk, he could tell. Rowan heard them talking and laughing to each other, attention still focused on Aelin.

She turned the corner, but the men looked after her longingly. One of them whispered something to another, both snickering. After a moment, the group started after her, stumbling over themselves as they went.

Rowan ached to follow them, to make sure she was okay. Not just because he was a doctor, but because he knew just how much it could hurt when you’ve lost someone. She was so sad, so pained now. In the times he’d seen her before, it was all concealed. The mask she wore was made of steel, her walls impenetrable. Now, though, he saw the other side, the one where she thought no one was watching. 

Discreetly, he put one foot in front of the other and began to walk after both parties, trying to stay far enough back that he wasn’t spotted, but still keep them within his field of vision. Rowan’s steps were near silent on the concrete, his movements lithe and agile.

He turned a corner, allowing himself a moment of panic when he realized he’d lost the men, before forcing himself to calm down and  _ think. _ After a minute, he heard a loud crash from inside an alley, at least two pairs of feet, followed by laughter. Rowan walked to the entrance, pausing. 

It was only after hearing a muffled curse from a voice that was distinctly female that he crept in after them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, come visit me on tumblr @abookishfreak
> 
> I love talking to people!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Come visit me on Tumblr @abookishfreak


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